Often in a round, we have to mark our ball and replace it or we must take a relief and drop a ball at a spot or inside one or two club-length.
Many players know the rules but some think they know them and don’t ask for the help of a rules official.
THE RULE
When a competitor plays from a wrong place he must add a penalty of 2 strokes. If he gain a substantial advantage he must replay at the right place. if the breach is not important he continues to play without correcting and adding the 2 strokes to his score.
EXAMPLE OF MINOR BREACHES
-1 Not replacing the ball at the right place on the green.
-2 Use 2 club length instead of 1 club length in case of a relief of a cart path or casual water.
-3 drop a ball on the wrong side of a cart path.
EXAMPLE OF SERIOUS BREACHES
-a the nearest point of relief from a cart path is on the left side of the path in bushes and the player drops the ball on the right side to avoid the bush.
-b on an island green marked in yellow (water hazard) the player drops a ball 2 club length from the point of entry on the green side.
ANSWER TO LAST WEEK ADDITIONAL QUESTION
When the player goes back to the area where he played a wrong balls, he drops a ball under the unplayable rule at 4 club-length instead of 2 club-length. Also because he was not happy, he sent his ball with his hand in the middle of the woods and substituted his ball for a new one. So he did not finish the hole with the original ball and he made his drive at the next hole.
ANSWER:
If the wrong place (4 club-length instead of 2) did not give him an important advantage, he must not correct.
When a player declares his ball UNPLAYABLE, he may substitute another ball.
OTHER QUESTION
Eddy sends his ball Out of Bounds. he puts another ball in play on the tee playing his third stroke. He sends his next shot on the green and makes 2 putts for a score of 6.
Before playing from the next tee, his fellow-competitor tells him he played from outside the tee box with his second ball.
What is the ruling?